Book 2: Chapter 154
Min Ha-rin realised that this sort of close-up battle was extremely disadvantageous for Magic Swordsmen.
She at least needed enough distance to swing her sword, but Lukas was so close to her that she didn’t have the chance to catch her breath as he continued to swing his fists. And as time went by, she found herself more and more on the defensive.
Tuk-
Suddenly, Lukas grabbed Min Ha-rin by the collar.
“Ah.”
This was bad.
Just as she had this thought, Min Ha-rin felt her body float up into the air.
Similar to a shoulder throw, this was one of the techniques of the Warrior King Fist, ‘Overturning the Bull’.
Bang!
Min Ha-rin’s body hit the ground so hard that cracks were formed beneath her.
As her back crashed against the ground, she felt all the air leave her lungs. If the slam had been a bit stronger, she would have fallen unconscious.
“…”
Lukas didn’t follow up his attack. He only looked down at Min Ha-rin while shaking his hand slightly.
Min Ha-rin couldn’t bear to meet his gaze.
She’d lost.
It was a complete and utter defeat.
She could still move, but when she’d hit the floor, her entire body had been full of openings. If this were a real battlefield, she would be dead without a doubt.
—As for making some kind of excuse, she didn’t even think about it.
Min Ha-rin had been defeated before she could display even half of her true strength. In fact, if it wasn’t for the experience she had gained over the years, she might have asked for a rematch.
‘That’s what Master wants’.
He had intentionally ended the fight without allowing her to properly display her strength.
If they were to fight again, while she might not lose as easily, it would be nothing more than a loser’s consolation.
Then, Lukas spoke.
“Get up. You shouldn’t be tired already, right?”
“…huh?”
“We’re going to have another round.”
Min Ha-rin looked at him with a blank expression.
“Right now?”
“Right. I want to see all that you’ve developed over the past five years. At the very least, I can see that you’ve developed some level of calmness and quick thinking.”
“…”
“And… I might have been a bit emotional just now.”
Lukas smiled wryly as he said this.
“After seeing my disciple worry about beating me after only playing around for five years, I unintentionally forgot to hold back.”
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s mouth hung open, unsure of how to respond to that.
Hiding her blushing face, Min Ha-rin got to her feet.
“M-, Master is an Absolute, so that’s why you can fight like that, isn’t it? If you were a human, I think fighting like that would be very…”
“Do you mean the combination of magic and martial arts?”
Min Ha-rin nodded, but Lukas shook his head.
“That’s not true.”
“Huh?”
“At this moment, I am just an ordinary 7-star Wizard, as weak as any other human. Of course, my experience is much deeper than any other human, but that’s all. My pure combat power, mental capabilities, and mana reserves aren’t much different from back in the day.”
“Y-, you’re saying that…”
“Right.”
Lukas nodded.
“When I was a human, even as a 7-star Wizard, I was able to use magic and martial arts simultaneously. Just like now.”
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s mouth fell open.
She’d always known that Lukas was amazing. But now that they were standing on the same level, she was finally able to understand a bit.
Just how special this being in front of her was since the days when he was a human.
* * *
After that, they fought five more times.
However, she was defeated every single time. Almost as if it was a natural outcome.
The more they fought, the longer she was able to last, but that was it.
From beginning to end, she hadn’t been able to land a single attack on Lukas.
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s face was pale.
She was still proud of everything she had achieved over the past five years and how much she had grown, but in front of her master, it felt like the achievements she’d gained at the risk of her life were only so-so.
Compared to her master’s current state, all of her attributes were superior.
Nevertheless, it was the one area that she was inferior in that decided the outcome of their fights.
User capability.
Click.
It was at that moment that the door opened and Lukas walked into the room.
“Did you have a good talk with Bargan?”
“Right. He didn’t have any complaints.”
“That’s good.”
Lukas looked at Min Ha-rin for a moment before opening his mouth again.
“You look depressed.”
“…well, it’s just… I wonder if I’ll ever be able to defeat you, Master.”
“You might be able to after about 4,000 years.” (Note: Pfft)
“C-, can a person even live that long?”
“You can.”
Min Ha-rin didn’t know that Lukas had spent 4,000 years in the Abyss when he was a human. Because he never mentioned those days when he talked about his past.
That’s why Min Ha-rin took Lukas’ words as a joke.
“You’ve grown stronger.”
Lukas continued.
At first, Min Ha-rin thought he might be joking again, but her master would never be sarcastic with her.
“Really?”
As he heard this tentative voice, Lukas nodded.
“Right. Do you remember what I said before? That you’d need five years to surpass Lee Jong-hak.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Min Ha-rin nodded.
After saying that, he’d said that if she listened to his teachings, she would be able to surpass Lee Jong-hak using magic within a year.
“Ha-rin, you’ve definitely gotten stronger. Currently, you are on par or even above him already.”
“…”
Min Ha-rin’s expression remained bewildered. Even if she trusted what Lukas was saying, she still found it very hard to believe.
“Of course, this is only true if Lee Jong-hak is still on the same level compared to five years ago.”
“Ah.”
She immediately understood what he meant.
If Lee Jong-hak had also entered this world a few years ago and continued his training during that time, then he definitely would have become much stronger.
After all, Lee Jong-hak was no less talented than she was.
“Magical Swordsmanship… that is the path you chose in the end.”
Lukas continued in a low voice.
Magic and swordsmanship were not particularly easy fields even when one chose to focus on them.
Nevertheless, she was already showing great success in both fields. Such an achievement was difficult even for geniuses who had excellent comprehension abilities.
But Lukas didn’t bother to say those things out loud. He didn’t think Min Ha-rin didn’t know that already.
Everyone had their own innate gifts. You could even call it a talent.
Min Ha-rin must have constantly been contemplating and confirming her innate gift while toiling for those five years in the Heavenly Realm.
And after all that time, the conclusion she reached was to continue the path of ‘Magical Swordsmanship’.
And since Lukas respected Min Ha-rin, he would naturally respect her choices as well.
He wouldn’t be a true master if he were to recommend she give up her path just because it was difficult.
Sometimes, it was necessary to support and understand a choice without saying anything.
“What do you think your biggest problem is right now?”
“Umm… I’m not able to show 100 percent of my abilities.”
“Exactly. Now all you need to work on is refinement.”
“Refinement…? What does that mean?”
“I realised something during our fights. You picked up on a lot of tricks.”
“Yeah. Well…”
Min Ha-rin had learned about a dozen or so skills during those five years on her own. There were many different kinds of skills. Some of them weren’t very useful, while some of them had even saved her life.
“However, in our fights just now, you couldn’t use many of those tricks.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded.
Had they had this conversation before the fights, she would have been a bit skeptical, but now, she understood.
What it was like to make use of all the weapons in your arsenal.
She could tell just from watching Lukas.
Because of his understanding of his weapons, he was able to bring out 120 percent of their power by using them in the right place at the right time.
“In truth, it’s not very easy to use all of your power in a fight. This is because the situation can change in many ways depending on who your opponent is, the terrain, and whether or not you’re in peak condition.”
“Yeah.”
“Since you’ve mastered a large number of tricks and skills, you have a relatively large number of options by which to respond to a variety of situations. The only problem is that you can’t fully utilise them yet.”
“…then what should I do?”
“Until you can make every skill completely yours, limit the skills you use.”
“Huh?”
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